John F. Kennedy on the Economy

The following is a quote from President Kennedy’s State of the Union address Jan. 14, 1963. I only wish the present Democrat in the White House could understand what President Kennedy had to say!

“America has enjoyed 22 months of uninterrupted economic recovery. But recovery is not enough. If we are to prevail in the long-run, we must expand the long-run strength of our economy. We must move along the path to a higher rate of growth and full employment.

“For this would mean tens of billions of dollars more each year in production, profits, wages, and public revenues. It would mean an end to the persistent slack, which has kept our unemployment at or above five percent for 61 out of the past 62 months—and an end to the growing pressures for such restrictive measures as the 35-hour week, which alone could increase hourly labor costs by as much as 14%, start a new wage-price spiral of inflation, and undercut our efforts to compete with other nations.

“To achieve these greater gains, one step, above all, is essential—the enactment this year of a substantial reduction and revision in Federal income taxes….[A] net reduction in tax liabilities…will increase the purchasing power of American families and business enterprises in every tax bracket, with greatest increase going to our low-income consumers. It will, in addition, encourage the initiative and risk-taking on which our free system depends—induce more investment, production, and capacity use—help provide the two million new jobs we need every year—and reinforce the American principle of additional reward for additional effort.”